Circuit controller



Feb. 19 1924.' ,A 1,484,048

w. zABEL.

CIRCUIT CONTROLLER Filed Feb. 5, 1920 in O.

N94 am' Mac, INVENToR @Mn Feb. 19 1924.

ZABEL 'G'IRCUIT coNTRQLLERf Filed Feb.V s, v1920 4 `sets-shem. 4

y INVENTOR d BY #r i v HISATTORNEK Patented Feb. 19, 1924.

UNIT .113

WILLIAM ZABEL, nNonAsEn, LATE or swissvALn,':eEivivrsYLvANriA; BY isnn'rHA ZABEL, EXECUTNIX, AssreNoia r.ro 'rim UNioN/swrlrcrr a 'SIGNAL COMPANY, 0F

swrssvA'LE, PENNSYLVANIA, A CORPORATION `or rENNsYLvANIA.

CIRCUIT CONTROLLER.

Application med February/3, 1920. serial No. 356,112. j

To all whom t may concern: Be it known that VVrLLiAM ZABEL, de. ceased, a citizen of theUnited States, late of Swissvale, in the county of Allegheny...

and State of Pennsylvania, did invent certain new and useful Improvements 1n Circuit Controllers, of which the followingl is a specification. f

Thisv invention relates to circuit controllers which are designed for operation by railway switches, and the function of which is to govern other apparatus in accordance view of the circuitvcontroller with the cover removed. Fig. 4 is a vertical sectional view` on the line IV-IV of Fig. 2. Fig. 5 is a view looking at the controller from the right hand side in Fig. 2, and showing only the cam 8 and crank 4, this view including a diagrammatic representation of the contacts to illustrate the contact operation when the cam shown therein is employed. Fig. 6 is a view similar to Fig. .5 but showing adif- Vferent cam 8a, this view also includinga diagrammatic representation of the contacts for the same purpose as in Fig. 5. y7 is a c view similar to the right hand portion of Fig. 1 but showing a modiedform of circuit controller Ca having a crank 4a of fixed length. Fig. 8 is a vertical sectionalview of a cam 8b adapted for use in the circuit controller Ca shown in Fig. 7. Fig.` 9 is'a view showing the cam 8b in front elevation.

Similar reference characters refer to similar parts in each of the several views.

Referring first to Fig. 1, the reference character A designates a railway switch comprising as usual two fixed or stock rails 1 and. la, and two movable rails 'or switch points 2 and 2ab connected by a tie rod Operatively connected with the movable rail 2a is a circuit controller C, the Operating connection: comprising a rod 3 of adjustable length and a crank 4 of adjustable length.

" and the two contacts .it will be seen that vreverse movements of the rails 2 and 2a will causeoscillation of the `crank 4 and so will cause operation ofthe p arts. connected to this vcranlrwithin the f circuit` controller.

Referring now to 2,- 3 and the circuitcontroller C comprises `a box v5 proouter end of this` shaft vis attached tothe crank 4 as hereinafter explained, andthe rvided with'a .cover 5a. One` wall of the box is: provided with a bearing if sleeve 6 in which av square shaft 7, provided `Vwith jourinner end receives a cam 8 having a square I hole. as shown in Fig. `5. .The cam islocked in place by a collar 26. attached to the shaft,

inner end of the shaft. vIn the forni shown except for two notches V13y andla, although as hereinafter explained other forms fof cams maybe employed.

The wall of box 5 which carries the bearing sleeve 6 is providedwith two inwardly projecting lugs. 9 and 9a to which Itwo contact operating arms `10 and 10a are pivoted by means .of pins 21 "and 21a'. The arms y10 v in Fig. 5,.the periphery of cam 8 is circular and 10aA are provided with. rollers 11 and 11a respectively which co-operate with the periphery of the cam 8 as hereinafter `set forth.` The arms 10 and 10?'are biasedtoward the cam by springs 12 and 12a,respec` tively, so that the rollers 11 and 11a follow l cam as the latter oscil-1` the periphery of the lates. i l

The free ends of thearms" 10 andA 10a actuate the electrical' contacts which form part of the circuit controller. `These .con-

tact-s arecarried byf a block 14 of insulating material. which is mountedntransversely in the boxj. v.As here shown, four sets of con-l tacts E, F, G and H are provided, each comprisingtwoxed contact springs15 and 16',

and a finger 17 movable into engagement with either spring.V "The 'contacts are 'ar-14 v ioO` ranged for op'erationfin pairs, the two con# tactsE and kFbeing perated by. armflO?,

land H beinglopere ated by arm .'10.' To laccomplish this,the

y'inov"able` fingers 17 of COntactsE'and are connected by a block .18a of insulating. material which is provided with two verti-y cally projecting,v pins 19a, and `thesefpi'iis.` -fit into slots20a in' the forkedend of erin 10a.

70 :'I l'and by a nut 27 screwed on lthe lthreaded i lThe lingers 17 of contacts G and H are similarly connected by a block 18 having pins f 19 which it'into slots 2O in the forked end of arm 10. It follows that by swinging'arm on lits pivot 21 the iingers 17 of contacts G and H will be swungfrom springs 15 to springs 16 and vice-versa, and that contactsA E and .F are similarly actuated when arm 10a is swung on its pivot 21a.

The parts of the circuit controller and the connection therebetween and the switch` Ay are so arranged that during aV complete movement-,ofthe switch yfrom oney eXtreme position to thev otherthe cam 8 `is swung through 'an are off700, the cranlr'lmoving from a position 85o from. the vertical on lone side to a position 35 pfrom'the vertical i on the other side. 4Referring now to Fig. 5,

"the twoy notches `13 and 183m cam 8 are .so located that when the, switch. is in the errtreme position in which'it isshown in Fig?.

` 1, and jwhichv will term the normal position, recess `13au is opposite roller. 11a soy that arm 10ais swung inwardly toward the ceni .the operation yof the apparatus is as follows:V With the switch in the normal position, yarm.llOamishin,its inward position, so .that contact 16-17 of each of the `contact setsy E and F is closed, yand arm 10 occupies its outer position, so that contact 16-17 of each of the contactsets Gand -H is closed. As soonas the Tswitch moves away from its normal position, :arm 1()a is swung outwardly, therebyopeningl contact low-17 of eachcontact set E and. F and closing contact'1517 ofeach of these sets. -No furA therchange occurs' until the switch reaches `its reverse position, lwhereupon arm 10 swings inwardly, thereby opening contact 16-17 of each set G and H and closing contact 15-17 of eachof these sets. During a `movement of the switch from reverse to normal position,.contaet sets Gr and H will bej shifted as soon as;l the switch leaves the reversev position, ,and contact sets E and F l will be shiftedwhen the normal position of the switch is reached. f

Referring now to Fig. 6, the cam 8a is of 'such diameter thatwlien the rollers 11y and llajareon the 'periphery thereof each contactjiinger 17 .'.occupiesa middle position wherein it is outof engagement -with both of theA tze-operating @springsk 15 and L16. ,'When ,rece'ssf13 registers .with roller 11,

however, the yfingers .17 of contact sets G and n H j arey 'moved in to Vengagement with springs 15,l and when .recess v,13e 'registers relier 11?; the. fiiiigerszl off.ontact sets Ahen thecam 8 shown in Fig. 5 is used,

E and F are moved into engagement with the co-operating springs 16. The recesses 13 and 13'L are in this instance so located that they register with the rollers 11 and 11a, respectively, when the switch is in the norinal position, and the vcamis provided with two lugs'22 'and 22, which aresolocated as to register with the rollers 11 and 11, respectively, when the switch is in the reverse position. l/ Vhen lug 22 registers with roller '11, arm '10 is moved to its outermost position wherein conta-ct 16-17 of each set of contacts G andH is closed, and when lug 22a registers with roller 11a, arm 10a is swung to its outermost position so that contact 15-17 of each set of contacts E and -F is closed.

Thevoperation ofthe apparatus when the cam 8a is provided, is as follows:

When the switch is in normal position, arms 1() and 10EL are's'wung to their innermost positions, so that the contacts are in the positions indicated directly above Fig. 6. As soon ras the switch leaves the normal position arms 10 and 10a are swung to their intermediate positions wherein all of the contacts are open. When the switch reaches its reverse position, arms 10 and 10a are swung to their outermostl position wherein eontact-16-17 of each set Gand H is closed and contact 15-17 of each set E and F is closed. The operation of the contacts during movement of the switch from reverse to normal position will be understood without further explanation.

,- The parts of the circuit controller are preferably so adjusted that when the caml notch 13 registers with roller 11, this roller `is held away from the bottom ofthe notch by the engagementof the fingers 17 of contact sets G andy H withsprings 15. It follows, therefore, that when notch 13` registers with roller 11, any slight movement of the cam due to the passage of trains over the switch or to any other cause will not result in engagement of the edges of the notch with the roller,` and so will cause no wear of these parts. rllhe saine thing is true as to roller 11L and notch 13, the roller in this instance being held out of engagement with the bottom ofthe notch by the. engagement of fingers 17 of contact sets E and F with lingers 16. 1

One `important feature of this .invention is the ratio between the radius of movement. of roller 11 and the radius of movement of the forked end of arinlO whereby a com` yof movement is still further multiplied due `tothe 'fact thatxbloclr 18 is comparatively vclose to the'xed end of each vrfinger 17x 1t follows that a considerable contact opening is secured-withuonly a `small movement of ice lll)

- these two positions is fixed.

inst/ie roller 1l by the cam 8 or 8a. The same thing is true as to arm 10a, roller 11a, and the contacts actuated thereby.

It will be seen from the foregoing that one set of contacts is operated when the cam is in one extreme position, and anotherset when the cam is in the other extreme position, and that the angular throw of the cam between. Itfollows that if the stroke of all switches were the same, the crank 4 could be made fixed in length, and, when the circuit controller were applied to any switch the two setsof contacts would vloe operated in the two extremepositions of the switch. As a matter of fact, however, the throws of all switches are not alike, and so if the crank 4 were made fixed in length and the circuit controller applied to a swi-tchfor which it is not suited, the two sets 'of con-l tacts could not be made to operate in the two extreme positions of the switch. For this reason I make the crank 4 adjustable in length, so that the desired angular throw of the cam may be secured regardless of the throw of the switch. l AAs here shown, the crank 4 isthreaded to Ascrew into one a threaded hole in one legofan L-shaped member 23, the other ,legvof this member being clamped to thefshaft 7. Two nuts 24 and 24a are provided on lthe crank, one on each side of member 23, to lock the crank against turning after adjustment is effected. This means for adjusting the length of crank 4' is shown herein only for the purpose of illustration, it being understood that any vother form of adjustable crank maybe employed without departing from the scope of the present invention.

One form of'adjustable crank which is particularly well adapted to this use is shownand described in my `co-pending application filed on even date herewith, `Serial No.I 356,111 for mechanicalV connections. -f Vhen the circuit controller shown in Figs.

2 to 5 is to be applied to aswitchlsuch as that shown in Fig. l, the procedure is as fiollows The circuit controller is first located and fixed in position beside the rails, and the length of the crank 4 is adjusted vuntil the throw of the lower end thereof .is approximately equal to the throwv of the switch. The length of the rod 3 is then adjusted at Saso that when switch point 2 is tight 'against rail 1,the notch 13a -in cam 8 regisli'nally, the length. of

ters with roller 11'. the crank 4 is varied untilzit is; such tha-t when switch point 2al is tight against rail'la,`

the cam `notch 13 registers ywith roller` 1,1.

It will be seen, therefore, that the desired* operation of the contacts can befsecured. re-

gardless of the throw of the switch, with-r vWhen `the. cam 482L shown'inj is; used,

the procedure in applying the controller to a switch substantially thesame as that exi 1la registers with4 one of these notches or lugs, only a lsmall angular .movement of the ca'm, corresponding to `a `very small `movement of the switch,` rails such as i, inch, will suffice to swing arm 10 or. l0y enough to shift the contacts controlled thereby, this being true regardless off the direction in whichl the switch ismoved. This insures that if the operating connection is so adjusted that a cam notch orvcam lug registers with a roller when they switch is in an extreme position, a inch movement of the Vswitch away l`from such lposition will cause agcontact opera-tion.

Anotherimportant feature of this inven-` tion 1s that the circuitcontroller can be' turned around'end for end without. necessi-` i tating any change within the controller itself. Of course, Vwhen, the .position of the controller is thus l changedfthe contacts which were previously closed with the switch in normal position'will be closed with the switchin reverse position- In the case of the cam shown in Fig. 5, this re-Y. versal of contact operation maybe avoided by reinovingthe cani and swinging the same around through an angle of' i800, where-A upon the 'contact' operation will be exactly the same as before the positionof `the controllergwas reversed. In the caseofthe cam-shown in Fig. 6, the reversal. of con'- tact operation may be avoided by removing the cam andy-turning it face about on an axis passing through a diagonal of square shaft hole, bringing the lugs 22 and 22ajinto the positions previously occupied by i the notches 13 and 13a, and vice-versa.

In some instances it'may `be desirable to make the Voperating cia,iikfixcd to length, as shown in Figf?, and in such instances the cam must be made adjustablel to compensate for switches having different throws. y When such isthe case, the cam 8b shown .in Figs. 8 and 9 may be employed.; This cam comprises two cam sections 28 and 2S ",niount` ed on hubs 29 and 29, respectively, each hub having a square central aperture ar ranged to fit on the squared end ofthe shaft 7 The periphery of each hub is circular, and the corresponding cam. section is ai ranged to fit freely thereon, so that the angular. positionof the.' cam section on its hub can be varied. A `To facilita-te the .angular adjustment of each cam section and to lock it in adjusted position, the periphery of each hub is provided with aV shoulder which lies against the side of the corresponding cam section, such Shoulder beingprovided with gear teeth or 30' around a portion of its circumference, and each cam section carries a small gear 31 or 31a which meshes with the teeth 30 on the corresponding-hub. The gear wheel 31 is 'mountedto rotate on a screw 32 which passes into a threaded hole in cam section 28 and integral with this gear wheel is a hexagonal head 33 by which the wheel may be turned with a wrench. Gear wheel 31a is mounted on cam section 28a in a similar manner.

To change the position of cam section28 on the hub 29, screw32 is first loosened, andk the cam section is then turned to the desired position by turning the gear wheel 31. The

cam section is then locked in adjusted position by tightening screw 32. The procedure,

in adjusting cam section 28a is the same.

lThe periphery of cam section 28 is provided with a notch 13, and the peripheryv of cam section 28a is provided with a similar notch 13a, which notches coact with rollers 11 and 11a in the same manner as in Fig. 5. To prevent the periphery ofcam section 28au from interfering with the notch 13 in section 28, the periphery of section 28a is provided with a recess 34a extending from the point a in clockwise direction to the point Z). For a similar reason the periphery of cam section 28 is provided with a recess 34 which entendsv from point c in clockwise direction to the point d. The depth of each of these recesses is at least equal to the depth of each notch 13 and 13a, and the recess in each cam section is so located that for all adjustments of the cam in actual practice' a portion of this recess will register with the notch 13 or 13FL in the other cam section. y

rlhe procedure in applying a circuit controller having the cam shown in Figs. 8 and 9 to a railway switch such as that shown in Fig. 1, is as follows:

The circuit controller is first fixed in place in the roadbed beside the switch and the cam sections 28 and 28n are adjusted to approximately their proper relative positions. rllhe rod 3 is then adjusted until its length is such that when switch point 2 is tightly closed against rail 1, the notch 13a registers with roller 11a. The cam section 28 is then `adjusted to such angular position that when tion will serve to raise one roller or the j cations may be made therein within the scope of the appended claims without departing from the spiritand scope of this, invention. i

` Having thus described this invention, what is claimed is:

1. In combination, a railway switch, a circuit controller comprising a cam having a fixed stroke, two contacts controlled by said cam and actuated lat the two ends of the stroke of the cam, respectively, and a crank of adjustable length connecting said caml and said switch whereby the fixed stroke of the cam may be secured with switches of different throws.

2. In combination, a railwayy switch, a cir-v cuit controller comprising a cam having a fixed stroke, a crank of adjustable length connecting said cam and said switch whereby the fixed stroke of the cam may be secured with switches of dierent throws, and two contacts .actuatedA by said cam at the two ends of its stroke respectively, and consequently at the two ends of the throw of ther switch.

3. A circuit controller for railway switches, comprising a cam mounted to oscillate, two contacts controlled by said cam and actuated respectively in the two extreme positions of the stroke of the cam, anda crank of adjustable length attached to said cam and adapted for connection with the switch whereby the stroke of said cam may be made the same for switches having dilerent throws.

t. In combination, a railway switch, a cam operatively connected with said switch and having a uniform cam surface provided with an irregularity, a follower for said cam, and a circuit controlling contact actuated by said follower, said irregularity being ofsuch length that if it registers with said follower when the switch is in one eXtreme position it will fail to do so upon a slight movement of the switch away from such position.

5. In combination, a railway switch, a cam operatively connected therewith and having a uniform cam surface provided with an irregularity, a follower for said cam, a contact controlled by said follower, and

means included in the connection between said cam and said switch for adjusting' the connection so that said irregularity registers with said follower when the switch is in one extreme position.

6. In combination, a railway switch, a cam operatively connected therewith and having a uniform cam surface provided with an irregularity, a follower forsaid cam, a contact controlled by said follower, said irregularity and said cam follower being so proportioned that they register during only a small proportion of the total stroke of the switch, and means included in the connection between said cam and said switch for adjusting the connection so that said irregularity registers with said follower when the switch is in one eXtreme position.

7. A circuit controller comprising amovable cam, an arm pivotally mounted at one end, a cam follower located intermediate the ends of said arm, a movable lcontact finger mounted at one end, the free end of said arm being connected with said finger intermediate the ends of the latter, and a fixed contact spring co-acting with the freev end of said linger, whereby a given movement of said follower by the cam causes a considerably greater movement of the free end of said contact linger.

8. A circuit controller comprising a movable cam having a uniform cam surface with a notch therein, a movable arm having a ters with said notch, said parts being so proportioned that the biasing force of said spring is overcome by said contact before the follower reaches the bottom of said notch, and that when the contact is closed a slight movement of the cam may occur without moving the follower, whereby such slight movement causes no wear of the cam or of the follower.

9. A circuit controller comprising a horizontally disposed shaft mounted to oscillate, a cam attached to said shaft to oscillate in a vertical plane and having a circular periphery-provided with irregularities, two arms diametrically disposed on opposite sides of said cam and mounted to move towards and away from the center of the cam, each arm having a follower coacting with the periphery of the cam, and two contacts one controlled by each of said arms.

In testimony whereof I affix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

BERTHA ZABEL, Eafeeutrz'm of the Estate of William Zabel,

cleeeaseal.

B. ZABEL, T. ZABEL. 

